A rambling, illustrated guide to enjoying the lightweight tricycle. My blog follows my personal journey towards greater fitness from a very low ebb. It describes the discovery of suitable equipment, clothing and techniques for riding a lightweight trike [more] quickly on the "wrong side of the road" in a "difficult" climate on a modest budget by an opinionated "pedalling pedant." A sense of humour is considered vital to the full enjoyment of this monologue. Some ranting may be involved.

18 Dec 2016

18th December 2016 UK's first registered blind Minister of Transport!

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Sunday 18th 42F, 6C, misty, cloudy and still very very dark at 8.15am. The forecast is for more cloud and light winds. Walked for 40 minutes to capture not a lot with my camera.

I
was just reading on the BBC News about the UK Transport Secretary
Grayling opening his ministerial car door into the path of an
'undertaking' cyclist. The cyclist was clearly thrown heavily from his
machine as recorded by another, following, camera-carrying cyclist. Damage was caused to
the cycle though no injuries are initially mentioned for the cyclist. Being an entirely taxpayer subsidized, international news website The BBC NEWS
won't show news videos outside their own license area in case copyright profits are lost. So I'll link to the Guardian's excellent
coverage instead:

NO FOUL! screamed a knee-jerking, motoring correspondent. One who clearly
does not understand the law nor the meaning of the law. Ideal future Transport Secretary and ex-Justice Minister material you would think?

Try: Section 2 of The Road Traffic Act 1988. Quoted from the Guardian: “No person shall open, or cause or permit to be opened, any door of a vehicle on a road so as to injure or endanger any person.”

How difficult can it be to understand even for a motoring correspondent? Or the registered blind, Minister of Transport? Perhaps Grayling wants it in Braille, in triplicate?

It seems there
is a deliberate hiatus in the cycle path markings, to allow really, really
important, blind ministers to safely alight from their posh ministerial vehicles
without the slightest fear of interrupting the flow in an official cycle lane with their white sticks.

Elysium R'Us? Certainly looks like it. They even painted the lampposts with fancy guilt scrolls so that ministers are not offended by ordinary [common people's] street ironwork. Though Grayling, being registered blind, probably doesn't know they exist, any more than he does cyclists.

I'm
still waiting for the police to release details of their prosecution of the
minister himself. Or, more likely, the driver of the ministerial car for failing to
observe filtering cyclists so as to cause an accident. Every blind, Transport Minister needs a fall guy. As long as he's not another bløødy cyclist!

In the video the cyclist is
clearly winded and appears to be temporarily in shock as he sits on the
pavement, bent over in his high visibility jacket. It is impossible to imagine he suffered no injury at all since he rubs his left arm at one point. [It is reported elsewhere that he suffered pain from his various injuries.]

No doubt a civil service, temporary, junior underling was seconded to report the road 'accident' to the police. It also seems Grayling and his entourage failed to provide any details to the injured cyclist. Yet another breach of the law by the [blind] former Justice Secretary. It all sounds a bit "fishy" to me.

Well, it seems
a private prosecution is possible. It's nice to know the VIP [Very Impotent Person] in
charge of British Road Safety is registered blind to the needs of
cyclists. In fact they don't even seem to exist unless they are actually
getting in His bløødy way! Scroll down the Guardian page for more coverage.